Like Family
by DragonKatGal
Summary: One shot. Cassie needs a job. And a drink. Not necessarily in that order.


Like Family

DISCLAIMER: Bad Girls belongs to Shed. Not to me. It's sad, but true.

SETTINGS: Never seen S5, so I'm not sure about the veracity of Cassie and Roisin being pardoned, but I'm assuming that they were.

PAIRINGS: Nikki/Helen, Cassie/Roisin.

SUMMARY: One shot. Cassie needs a job. And a drink.

ONWARDS:

Cassie Tyler was pissed.

And tired.

Emotionally, mentally and physically drained were also good adjectives that she would use.

Oh yes…she was also unemployed.

That was the real problem. Nine weeks out of Larkhall Prison, and she was finding it incredibly hard to bounce back onto her feet. Strangely enough, no one was willing to hire an ex-con who'd been convicted of fraud. That she'd been pardoned didn't seem to negate the bad publicity.

The fact that she had some light facial scarring from the fire that had been both her redemption and her damnation was also a discriminating factor. People saw the healing scars, and didn't look much further.

She sighed and walked away from her latest job interview, pausing in the street. She glanced at her watch. Five-eighteen in the afternoon. Friday. She was just glad that Roisin had had better luck in getting a job. It didn't pay well, but it gave her something to do, which was the whole point in trying to find a job. For some reason employers seemed to like the doting Irish mother far better than the out and proud dyke, Cassie Tyler.

But, they were together, which was the main thing. They still had a small amount of savings that Cassie had managed to keep hidden. The money was legitimate, a trust fund that had been in Cassie's name from her grandparents. She and Roisin could live quite comfortably for at least a year, but they both wanted something to fill their days with.

It would also look better for the bi-monthly social services visits if they were both in a stable job, so that when Roisin was granted permanent custody of her children, no one could say that they were unable to provide for the two youngsters. It helped that both Cassie and Roisin had proved they would run through fire to help save someone. Judges liked that quality in parents. Aiden Connor hadn't stood a chance.

But none of that was helping Cassie to find a steady, and hopefully interesting, job.

Cassie sighed and glanced across the street, her attention caught by a lesbian couple walking happily together, arm-in-arm, and into a trendy club. Chix.

She'd never even heard of the club before. Then again, she'd never really been to this part of town before. She was beginning to regret it though, if this club was what she thought it was. Then again, with a name like 'Chix', and a lesbian couple walking inside, what else could it be?

With a shrug, she walked across the road and entered the club, taking a moment to appreciate the well-decorated interior. She scanned across the room, noticing that there was a light crowd, with ninety-five percent of them being women. A lot of business suits and uniforms. There was a DJ playing dance music, and a small group of couples on the dancefloor.

And behind the bar was one of the most gorgeous women that Cassie had ever seen. She was tall, and slim in an athletic way, with black hair and deep brown eyes. She was quick with the drinks, and had a half-grin for every customer.

Deciding that she wouldn't mind a drink, even if she did need to get back to the apartment that she shared with Roisin, Cassie approached the bar and waited patiently for a lull in the crowd.

The bartender ran a hand through her hair, pushing it off her forehead, and leaving it casually mussed up in all directions. Cassie grinned appreciatively. Just because she loved Roisin, didn't mean she couldn't look.

"What'll it be?" the bartender asked.

"What do you recommend?" Cassie shot back.

"For you?" the woman replied. She gave Cassie a long look, up and down her body, clearly enjoying what she saw. Cassie took a moment to appreciate the attention, knowing that a lot of people were turned off by the scars. "You look like a tequila kind of woman."

With a little flair, the shot was poured, and a slice of lemon planted by the glass. A salt-shaker was slid in front of her, and the bartender winked.

"On the house," she said.

Cassie grinned.

"Can I interest you in a body shot?" Cassie asked boldly. She did so enjoy flirting with women.

"My wife'd kill me!" the woman replied, tapping the ring on her left hand. "She doesn't trust me around gorgeous women."

Cassie smiled. The woman was smooth. Rejected and complimented in a matter of seconds.

"Your loss," Cassie replied, licking her wrist and tapping a small amount of salt onto it.

"Trust me darlin', I know," came the reply.

Cassie grinned. It had been a long time since she'd flirted harmlessly with anyone. She really needed to come back to this bar again.

She licked the salt from her wrist, downed the shot, and sucked the lemon into her mouth, savouring the taste of salty, bitter and sour in one mouthful. She slammed the shot-glass onto the bar and slid it back to the bartender.

"Cheers!"

The bartender poured a vodka tonic and set it down in front of Cassie. With another wink, and without pausing to charge her, the woman moved back down the bar to serve another customer. Cassie picked up the glass and moved away from the bar, her spirits lifted after a completely crappy day. This was definitely a place to remember.

Seven days later, Cassie was back in the same part of London after yet another failed interview. It was really starting to depress her. She had yet to find a single company interested in hiring her, and it wasn't because of her lack of skills. No one was willing to give an ex-con a chance. She sighed tiredly. It was barely two in the afternoon, and still she was dead tired.

She glanced casually across at the club she'd visited last week. To her surprise, the door was open, and there was music coming from inside. Curious, she walked across the road and went inside.

The place was empty except for a woman who was sitting at a table, papers spread in front of her, and her back to the door. Cassie recognised her though. The dark hair and slim figure was a dead giveaway. This was the bartender she'd flirted with last week.

"Are you open yet?" Cassie called.

The woman turned in surprise.

"Uh…well, technically no, but if you're after a drink, I'm sure I can find something for you," she offered.

"Oh, I don't want to put you out," Cassie replied.

"Darlin', I've been out for years," came the teasing reply. "Come in, take a seat. What can I get you?"

"Vodka tonic, thanks," Cassie said. "You sure you don't mind?"

The woman shrugged. "It's fine. I'm going crazy in here anyway. Bloody books aren't balancing properly, only I can't work out where I've gone wrong."

Cassie's interest was peaked. "Financials, you mean?"

"Yup. I was a lot better at this five years ago," the woman said. "Bloody accounting system changed, and I can't get my head around it."

Cassie couldn't help but glance at the table of paperwork. She was desperate for work, and at this point, helping someone pro bono would probably keep her from going insane.

"I'm an accountant…if you wanted a hand…"

The woman looked intrigued. "Surely you've got better things to do than look over my books, though."

Cassie shrugged. "Not really," she admitted. "Truth is I'm an out-of-work accountant. Hell, you'd be doing me a favour, keeping my skills sharp. I honestly don't mind."

"Alright…if you're sure."

"I am."

"Okay. Knock yourself out."

Cassie grinned and walked over to the table of paperwork, sitting herself down in front of the ledger. She glanced over the figures, her natural talent and instinct for numbers, figures and sums coming to the fore. She grabbed a pen and began jotting down calculations, balancing the figures and working out where the other woman had gone wrong.

Twenty minutes later, Cassie looked up and called the woman over.

"This place does really well for itself," Cassie said.

"Yeah, it's been a great investment."

"You could really cut costs, too," Cassie said, pointing out a few places that she'd noticed the numbers had been a little too high for what was being sold. "Here and here as well."

They sat, chatting about the monthly figures, Cassie giving advice on cost cutting without destroying quality, and explaining how simple things could end up saving them more money than they already had.

"You really weren't kidding about being an accountant," the bartender mused. "Why the hell are you out of a job?"

Cassie sighed. She'd been hoping that wouldn't come up.

"Truth? I just got out of prison," she confessed. She waited for the look of disgust that usually came over most of her other potential employers, but if anything, the other woman looked intrigued. "For criminal fraud, I should probably add."

"What did you say your name was?"

"Cassie. Cassie Tyler," the blonde introduced herself.

The black-haired woman smiled. "HMP Larkhall. You saved the gay guv."

Cassie couldn't have been more startled. A lot of people recognised her name. She and Roisin had been on the news, toted as heroes for rescuing Neil Grayling. But no one she'd spoken to had known about Grayling being gay.

"I'm Nikki. Nikki Wade."

Cassie's eyes narrowed. "As in…"

"As in AC00018, formerly of HMP Larkhall. G-Wing."

The blonde's jaw dropped in shock. "You're joking."

"I'm not. Yvonne speaks very highly of you and your partner. Roisin, isn't it?"

Cassie nodded, still completely surprised by the random turn of events.

"Bloody small world," Cassie commented.

Nikki nodded, grinning at the strange circumstances. She glanced down at the financial reports that Cassie had managed to sort out in seemingly record time. She'd set aside the entire afternoon to fiddle with them, and now she had at least three hours to spare. Cassie was obviously very good at what she did.

"Would you be interested in doing the books on a regular basis?" Nikki asked.

Cassie looked at her in shock. "Seriously?"

"Seriously. I can't get my head around them, and I really hate having to spend five hours on what took you forty minutes," Nikki said. "Our accountant left us high and dry about a month ago, and I've not been able to replace her. Would you be interested?"

"Of course I'm bloody interested!" Cassie exclaimed. "You'd…you'd really let me do this? Knowing that I've got a criminal record? That I have a history of trying to scam a shit load of money off companies."

"Are you planning on scamming me?" Nikki asked mildly.

"Hell no!" Cassie replied.

"Then yeah, I'm interested. You're obviously good at what you do. You've got Yvonne's trust, which is a bloody good vote of confidence in my books. And as long as you don't try running anything dodgy in my club, then I'm willing to give it a go," Nikki said.

Cassie exhaled slowly. She couldn't help the grin that curled her lips. Ten weeks of rejections, and she'd stumbled into a job that she knew she was going to enjoy. Not only could she be completely open about her time in prison, but she wouldn't have to fear being out and proud among her workmates. This job was perfect.

Unable to contain her excitement, Cassie leapt out of her chair and pulled Nikki into a hug, pressed a kiss to Nikki's cheek. "Thank you!"

Nikki returned the hug with some bemusement, startled by the spontaneous display of affection.

"I leave you alone for five minutes…"

Nikki and Cassie pulled apart, spinning to look at the Scottish intruder who was looking on in amusement.

"Helen…I uh…meet my new accountant," Nikki said, desperately hoping that Helen hadn't got the wrong impression.

"We weren't…that is, I wasn't trying to…I mean, I know she's married," Cassie stammered, hoping she hadn't inadvertently caused any problems. The last thing she needed was her new employer being pissed.

Helen chuckled. "Don't worry, I'm not worried about Nikki cheating," she said, giving Nikki a chaste kiss in greeting. "She knows what I'd do to her."

Nikki nodded seriously, her arms snaking around Helen's waist, their bodies moulding against one another's as though they'd been designed to fit together. "Bloody painful. Not worth it."

Helen smiled sweetly, and Cassie tried not to be frightened by it. The woman was shorter than Cassie, but still carried an air of authority that Cassie didn't want to mess with. While Nikki looked like the butch in the relationship, it was obvious which of them was in charge.

"Helen, this is Cassie Tyler, late of G-Wing. Cassie, this is my wife, Helen Stewart, late of Larkhall's governors," Nikki said.

Cassie's jaw dropped once more. "Governor?" she repeated. She looked at Nikki in shock. "You don't do things by half!"

Nikki shrugged. "It's a talent."

Cassie chuckled. She wondered how on earth she'd missed that bit of gossip. She'd heard about Nikki over her eight months in Larkhall, but she'd never heard even a whisper that Nikki had been shagging a screw. In fact every time she'd heard about Nikki Wade, she had always been spoken of with the highest respect. Not something that was usual for someone who'd pulled a PO, and a Governor at that. Obviously Nikki was someone who had risen above the petty politics of the wing, and managed to come out of it still in tact.

"And your boss really won't mind that you've hired an ex-con?" Cassie asked, needing to make sure that she still had the job. "I mean, obviously not if you work here, and all that, but…still…"

"Cassie, I own half the club," Nikki explained. "My business partner, Trish, she put me in charge of accounts until I could find a suitable replacement. Like I said, it's yours for the taking. Just no funny business."

Cassie nodded. "You have my word," she promised solemnly. There was no way in hell she was going to mess this up.

"In that case, welcome to the family."

END


End file.
